Many domestic four-legged animals are supported by hoofs that are attached at the ends of their feet. These animals include equines, such as draught, show and pleasure horses, ponies and mules, and cloven-hoofed bovines, such as cows and oxen. In a horse, for example, each foot terminates in the distal, or third, phalanx bone, also referenced simply as the “phalanx”, “P-3”, or “coffin” bone. This coffin bone is encased by a horny material called the hoof, which is attached via hundreds of laminae (or lamellae) to hundreds of sensitive laminae attached to the coffin bone. This provides a suspension for the foot and serves as a shock-absorber as the horse impacts the ground with its feet when it ambulates by walking, trotting, galloping or jumping.
The hoof wall of the horse continually grows to replace the material lost due to wear and tear at the ground surface, through cell proliferation at the coronet, where mitosis of the epidermal basal cells produces new generations of cells that mature and cornify to add incrementally to the length of the hoof wall. The exact nature of how the inner hoof wall laminae remain attached to the sensitive laminae of the stationary coffin bone, while one move over the other, is as yet unknown, although several theories exist.
Many horses and other animals are regularly shod, usually with steel and aluminum shoes, to protect the animal's hoofs. These shoes last an average of six to eight weeks, and then the animal must be re-shod. The reason for the relatively short life of a shoeing is that the hoof grows continually, and spreads as it grows, so the nails which secure the shoe to the animal are clinched against the relatively soft outside of the animal's hoof wall, and are pulled partially or fully through the hoof wall, thus loosening the shoe as the hoof grows.
Loosening of the shoeing nails is also caused by lateral or wedging forces imposed on the shod hoof by walking on uneven ground and by such activities as cutting, reining, roping, barrel racing, jumping and landing after a jump. All of these actions cause the shoeing nails to work lose and eventually lead to a thrown shoe. This causes the frequent re-shoeing that is all too common and expensive. To reduce this number of shoeings necessary, the inventor here developed a hoof plate that is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,881, which in incorporated herein in its entirely by reference. The hoof plate is partially wrapped around the hoof and serves as an anvil against which the ends of shoeing nails are clinched. This holds the shoe in place much more securely than heretofore possible.
Because it is the primary suspension for a hoofed animal that enables ambulation, the hoof is critical to the well-being of the animal. Many problems can plague the hoof. Among these are, cracked or split hoofs. This hoof plate was discovered to be beneficial in the treatment of cracked or split hooves by forcing the crack to narrow as the hoof grew. Since the shoeing nails were retained by the hoof plate against pulling through the hoof wall.
In addition to cracked hoofs, hoofed animals unfortunately develop many other problems associated with the hoof. Among the most prevalent of these other problems are shelly and splayed hoofs and laminitis. Laminitis is a condition which can strike any hoofed animal and ungulates with a very high morbidity and frequent mortality rate. It is primarily known to affect equine animals and often spells the end of a horse's career, or results in euthanasia. Laminitis manifests itself in acute lameness, usually of the fore feet, but sometimes also the hind feet.
The hoof of equines is a hard hoof composed of dense keratinised fibers. The coffin bone of the digit is effectively suspended within this structure and attached to the growing hoof by a large number of the microscopic interdigitating horny and sensitive laminae. The sensitive laminae attached to the coffin bone and carry the nerves and blood supply. Both types are connected together in a dovetail fashion that suspend the coffin bone within the hoof. These structures have a highly complex and poorly understood system of arterio-venous anastamoses which regulate the blood supply to the lamina to compensate for various physiological states and mechanical stress.
Laminitis is caused by ischemia of the sensitive laminae, which begin to inflame and degenerate. This disrupts the interconnection with the horny laminae, causing the coffin bone to begin to detach from the inner hoof wall and rotate and/or sink. Inflammation of these structures results from disturbance of control of the arterio-venous anastamoses and leads to a compartment syndrome where the blood flow and, hence, nutrient and oxygen supply to the laminae is compromised.
Without proper attachment to the inner hoof wall, the weight of the horse and the forces of movement drive the coffin bone down, damaging arteries and veins, and crushing the living tissues of the coronary band and sole. This leads to unrelenting pain and a characteristic lameness. This condition can proceed through several stages. At the beginning it produces mild inflammation, which can be treated with little permanent damage, which is uncommon. Most cases of laminitis progress to chronic conditions in which the coffin bone further sinks, leading to the condition known as founder, in which the animal is unable to support itself upright on its legs. In larger animals, the coffin bone can actually protrude through the sole of the foot, resulting in total loss of use of the animal. This condition is irreversible and extremely painful and the animal often most be put down.
The exact cause of this condition is unknown, but has been known to be preceded by instances of the following: obesity/overeating/overfeeding, resulting in the excessive ingestion of carbohydrates; toxaemia, resulting from a disease involving a septic or toxic focus; mechanical trauma, resulting from prolonged work on hard surfaces; iatrogenic, resulting from administration of corticosteroids or retained afterbirth; hormonal, resulting from thyroid or pituitary dysfunction; stress, caused by overworking, especially in prolonged overly hot or cold conditions; and poor trimming or shoeing which forces the leg into an abnormal orientation.
Laminitis is an all-too common condition, experienced by many thousands of horses world-wide, for which no reliable treatment has heretofore been found. As such, it produces a multi-million dollar loss of animals to the equine industry.
Of course, the best treatment for laminitis is prevention, but, since the cause(s) are unknown for certain, this is impossible. Many treatments for laminitis have been proposed and tried. Among these are mechanical hoof support treatment with special shoes, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,509, or inflatable boots, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,382, or cushioning pads, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,283,219 and 4,794,991. Other treatments comprise administration of topical or internal medicaments, as in WIPO Publication WO03007952 and Canadian Patent No. 2273183, and administration of acoustic shock waves, as in Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0092819. None of these treatments has proved effective in successfully treating or curing laminitis.
Thus, there is a need for an effective treatment for laminitis.
Another problem which plagues hoofed animals is broken hoofs in which a major portion of the hoof wall is broken off and missing. This condition makes shoeing of such an afflicted animal nearly impossible, since normally the ends of the shoeing nails are anchored in the hoof wall. Without shoes, the animal is very difficult to rehabilitate, and can result in the loss of the animal.
There is a need for a means and method enabling shoeing an animal with a broken hoof.
Further problems frequently encountered with horses are shelly hooves, or hooves with thin, weak walls, and splayed or toe-out foot (similar to “duck foot” in humans). Both conditions are detrimental to the health and well-being of a horse or other hoofed animal.
There is a need for an effective treatment for shelly hoof and splayed foot.